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International Camp 2020 open meeting feedback

The first meeting for International Camp 2020 happened in Birmingham this weekend, here’s what we discussed...

What do we want from the camp?

By 2020, there won’t have been an international camp in the UK for 9 years. We want this one to be big, bold, and worth the wait.

As the largest part of our movement, we want this camp to be geared towards Elfins and Pioneers as well as younger international participants. We also want it to reinvigorate Woodcraft Folk nationally and locally, and be an exciting introduction to the many new people we are bringing into the Folk.

One of the reasons there won’t have been an international camp for so long is that we haven’t had the capacity as a movement to host one. With this camp we want to acknowledge the amount of work that goes into making it happen at all levels of the organisation. This means prioritising volunteer wellbeing and supporting central coordination through hiring people.

In the meeting we discussed the camp’s budget, theme, site, and the timeline for making it happen. Here’s a quick recap of each discussion:

Site

We discussed a range of possible sites and whittled it down to our top two choices. The key factors in this decision were accessibility, infrastructure, location and cost, as well as the kind of camp atmosphere we want to create. A smaller group has now been tasked with visiting and negotiating with our shortlist, and choosing the final site based on this.

Budget

We started by looking at the budgets of previous camps, and thinking about what worked and what didn’t. We have acknowledged that the camp is going to cost more than previous equivalent camps, because of the need for extra staff capacity to make it happen. We discussed that we want to support and empower districts to do more fundraising and ultimately make the movement more sustainable in the process. Once we’ve had more discussions with the sites, the budget will be taken to General Council for approval.

Theme

We looked at a list of potential themes from internationalism to peace to children’s rights. We thought about what has worked well in the past and whittled down the list of possible themes to three which will be presented to and voted on by the movement at Folk Assembly.

Timeline

Three years may seem like a long way away, but the first key point in the timeline is coming up soon - Folk Assembly! This will be your opportunity to choose the theme and the name, to input into the programme, menu and more, and to get involved in coordination and planning.

How can you get involved?

Get your district to Folk Assembly at Bramhope Campsite near Leeds from Friday 23 June to Sunday 25 June! There will be workshops and discussions on the camp, as well as the chance to pick the name and theme. If you want to get more involved, this will be your opportunity to find out more and get stuck in.